This invention relates to artificial kidneys, and more specifically to an implantable artificial kidney.
Most hemodialysis is conducted with equipment external to the human body, which is connected to an artery and a vein of the patient, in order to circulate the patient's blood through a mechanical hemodialyzer.
Moreover, most hemodialyzers cause the blood from the artery to move through or over a dialysate solution separated by a porous or permeable wall or membrane causing the desirable chemical elements from the dialysate bath to diffuse through the membrane and into the bloodstream to replenish the chemicals needed by the bloodstream. Examples of some of these prior art hemodialyzers are disclosed in the following U.S. patents:
______________________________________ 3,370,710 Bluemle, Jr. Feb. 27, 1968 3,373,876 Stewart March 19, 1968 3,505,686 Bodell Apr. 14, 1970 3,704,223 Hans-Joachim Dietzsch et al Nov. 28, 1972 3,864,259 Newhart Feb. 4, 1975 3,884,808 Scott May 20, 1975 4,176,069 Metz et al Nov. 27, 1979 ______________________________________
Only FIG. 10 of the Bodell U.S. Pat. No. 3,505,686 discloses an artificial implantable kidney, in which the blood flows through an artificial bypass tube in which a plurality of smaller dialysate tubes are immersed, and dialysate solutions continuously provided to the system from an external source.
None of the above patents, or any other prior hemodialyzers known to the applicant, utilize counter-current flow of arterial and venous blood in combination with a co-extensive urinary passage for waste products in the same tubular or microtubular unit to cause a cross-diffusion of chemical elements between the arterial and the venous blood streams.